JANELLE STRAWSBURG
Staff Writer
Some say it is unnatural for a woman to spend all day watching basketball. At least that is what I was told as I sat tuned into CBS all weekend. But I think it is unnatural not to bask in the glory that is March Madness.
Basketball fans, you know what I am talking about: the last second thrills, the heartbreaking upsets that destroy your theoretically perfect bracket, and the opportunity for three consecutive weekends to watch 40 minutes of intense collegiate competition 32 times over.
But what is it that compels us to sell our souls to the madness of March? Athletic plays, double overtimes and good Cingular commercials are all options. Perhaps those contribute to the overall excitement, but for me, it is about that one player. You know who I am talking about. You can see it in his eyes. The shot clock is winding down, and you just know he wants that ball in his hands. He wants that last shot, because if his team wins or if they lose, it will be because of him.
It is the leader. The floor general. The go-to man. It is the guy who everyone screams to pass the ball to in the clutch. Because, in his heart, losing is not an option.
It is because of those players that I have sat glued to my TV for the past two weekends, and it is because of those players that four teams remain in the race for the title of best team in the land.
The first leader hails from Compton. As the shooting guard for UCLA, junior Arron Afflalo averages 17 points per game and is a first team All-American. While points fluctuate (just look at his abysmal three-point performance in the Pac Ten tourney defeat by Cal), the heart of a leader doesn’t. In an interview following the game, a downcast Afflalo looked sickened when talking to reporters.
Because Afflalo hates to lose.
Lucky for the Bruins, Afflalo bounced back and took control of the Elite Eight game against top-seeded Kansas. The Pontiac game-changing play took place right before the half, when Afflalo demanded the ball, wound down the clock, created movement on the offense to draw defenders, then hit teammate Josh Shipp in the corner with a pass to nail a three at the buzzer to put the Bruins up by five. He creates scoring opportunities, a characteristic of a leader.
The animated leader of the Florida Gators is junior Joakim Noah. And although I personally cannot stand the forward (could be the long hair combined with the cocky attitude), one cannot deny he plays with an intensity I wish all athletes would mirror.
From the chest-thumping to the overly prolific yells at the end of every play, Noah acts as if every game is a national championship, which might be one reason why his team is heading back to the Final Four for a second year. He has fearless emotion, the epitome of a leader.
UNC missing 16 of their last 17 shots clearly played a factor in Georgetown’s stunning comeback in Sunday’s game. But do not let it overshadow the leadership of junior forward Jeff Green. Green came up big contributing more than 22 points in 42 minutes to propel the Hoyas past the Tarheels.
But Green’s big moments did not come just in the Elite Eight; it was Green’s last-minute heroics in battling through double coverage to make a basket at the end of game three over Vanderbilt that continued the Hoyas trip back to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. Big plays in big situations represent the calling card of a leader.
Last but not least is a man who has been leading Ohio State one step closer to a national championship, their last going all the way back in 1960. No, not the highly touted seven-foot center Greg Oden, but rather his best friend, freshman guard Mike Conley Jr.
Conley has leadership in his blood as the son of former triple jump Olympian Mike Conley and nephew of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Steve Conley.
And he has certainly lived up to his reputation as a big-game player. When Oden has gotten in foul trouble, it has been Conley who has come out to manage the floor, creating high charged drives with a tempo that he, as floor general, commands with poise beyond his years. Calmness under pressure is just another sure sign of a leader.
These four men are all leaders, but only one will be called a champion.
They all want another banner to hang. They all want a ring. And they will not stop until they get it or until someone takes it from them. You can see it in the way they walk on the court, you can see it in their eyes as their faces drip with sweat, and you can see it when the clock is ticking down, and they are the ones demanding the ball in their hands to decide their fate.
And you’ll see it on Monday night, when Afflalo leads UCLA to their 12th national championship over the Georgetown Hoyas. That’s right, I have said it from the beginning and I’m calling it again: Bruins upset over the Gators in the Final Four and then the battle of the two seeds to clinch the title.
And then you will hear the eight clap ringing all the way from Westwood to Malibu reminding all of us what it is to be a champion.
03-29-2007
